Lawrence Elected Archbishop of Ontario

Lawrence Elected Archbishop of Ontario

Article excerpt

Caleb Lawrence, bishop of Moosonee is the new metropolitan of the ecclesiastical (church) province of Ontario.

He was chosen as the province's senior bishop on the second ballot at an election held Nov. 9 during Ontario's provincial synod in Mississauga, Ont.

The bishop of Moosonee since 1980, Archbishop Lawrence began work as assistant curate of St. Donard's Parish in Belfast, Northern Ireland in 1964. From 1965 to 1979 he was missionary, incumbent and rector of St. Edmund's Parish in Great Whale River, Que., diocese of the Arctic. From 1974 to 1975 he was canon of St. Jude's Cathedral, Iqaluit, diocese of the Arctic.

He is a member of the national eco-justice committee, the national Anglican/Roman Catholic Bishops Dialogue, the Council of the North and the Council of General Synod. He is the longest serving bishop in the Canadian church.

Archbishop Lawrence, 63, was formally installed as metropolitan at a service in St. Paul the Apostle church, Toronto. As senior bishop he has jurisdiction and pastoral oversight for the province and presides at all meetings of the provincial house of bishops, the provincial synod and its executive council.

The province includes the dioceses of Ontario, Ottawa, Algoma, Huron, Toronto, Moosonee and Niagara.

He and his wife, Maureen, have three children.

Meanwhile, Canon Philip Poole of Trinity Church, Aurora, Ont., is the new suffragan bishop of the diocese of Toronto.

He was elected Nov. 13 on the third ballot by 703 synod members at an electoral synod held at Toronto's St. James Cathedral.

Ordained a deacon in 1977, Bishop-elect Poole became rector in 1987 of Trinity Church, where he raised $4. …